Using a plane flight as a framing device, Mark Miodownik explains all kinds of liquids, like peanut butter, kerosene, glue, alcohol, ink, etc. He goes through their physical properties, their history and discovery, and their uses.
It's a very interesting book, facilitating the understanding of how things around us work and giving scientifical insights on substances we often take for granted.

Absolutely loved this book. The author embarks on a plane journey and on this trip muses about all the different liquids involved in air-travel. From fuel to liquid restrictions in your hand luggage, to the drinks on the push trolley of the flight attendant. He explains the liquids, digresses a bit here and there, but never explains anything in a way the reader might not understand.

I truly enjoyed this approach at chemistry. This is the kind of scientific non-fiction book that is a pleasure to read.

LIQUID RULES by Mark Miodownik is subtitled "The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives." Miodownik's non-fiction books (he also wrote Stuff Matters) are entertaining glimpses into substances which we generally take for granted. In LIQUID RULES, this science professor at University College London explores various liquids associated with his transatlantic flight. The baker's dozen of chapters have one word titles like Explosive (aviation fuel, kerosene, whale oil, etc.); Refreshing (tea and coffee); or Cloudy (even answering: why are clouds white?). The latter chapter is also an example of where he talks about the benefits and potential destructive power of liquids: "as with all liquids, water is very hard to control. ... Clouds know no territorial boundaries; one nation's experiments, disasters or actions can and do affect the rest of the world...” Discussions and explanations are accompanied by photos, drawings and chemical diagrams, plus Miodownik offers an additional twelve titles for further reading. A fun book to dip in and out of, LIQUID RULES received a starred review from Booklist. Enjoy!

Liquid Rules is a historical and informative journey into a select number of liquids that govern our lives on planet Earth. The book is structured around one single plane-journey, and various liquids that can be found there – water, alcohol, soap, etc.; all which are given the focused attention of a chapter or so as Mark Miodownik explores the particularities in the liquid type and some of the things that makes it ‘tick’, all the while painting a broader picture of what liquids as a form really are – how they behave, how they differ from gas or solids, how they can be useful and at the same time dangerous, depending on the situation. With wit, and of a mind clearly fascinated by the dualities and contradictions of the form – Miodownik interweaves some personal anecdotes, groundbreaking discoveries, fascinating stories and useful information to the reader interested in learning more about the world all around us, which we are always seeing but as Holmes would say – not always observing, and makes us consider anew some of the substances we take for granted, or question how we expect them to behave.

The information itself is fascinating, if not thorough – rather than a deep-dive into any one aspect of liquids or specific liquid types, you get tidbits of their characteristics, history lessons like who discovered Kerosene or the development of liquid soap; it’s all quite brief – but on the other hand, for someone like myself with barely any foundational knowledge on chemistry or biology it was interesting enough and helpful too in furthering my understanding of liquids in particular in contrast to solids (with things such as peanut butter falling into the liquid category, never having crossed my mind). I particularly found the chapters on alcohol and water compelling, like – did you know you can tell the alcohol level in a wine by looking at the line drawn on the wine glass’s walls (“tears of wine”) where the liquid has touched the glass? From my understanding this line is stronger (stays longer) the higher the alcohol level, which alters the surface tension. In other chapters I learned that soap is made of ashes mixed with water and animal fats (at least, this has traditionally been the recipe for soap). I learned about various dangers liquids, like hydrofluoric acid whose touch can mess up nerve function without you even sensing the contact (“you can’t feel the acid as it’s burning you”). With each liquid is a history lesson, part scientific explanation of the way the liquid behaves and part a history of how we interact with the particular liquid. In fact, the relationship between liquids and the human world is more central throughout the book than a conclusive scientific overview of what liquids are.

I found myself asking “did you know x” and sharing tidbits of information with anyone who would listen constantly as I was making my way through this book. As such, it served its purpose – if not of educating me on every angle of the story at least to ignite an interest in something I had not truly observed before. However, I have some issues with the book as well – most of it being about its structure. While the gimmick of having all of the book centered around one flight journey might work for some, it started to grind on me by the end of it. Miodownik constantly refers to his airplane neighbor, jokes about his life and pokes fun at the flight procedures – there’s nothing inherently wrong about the more personal stories, but they don’t really add anything to the story expect to make it appear more humorous – which this book doesn’t need, it’s already quite accessible and approachable without the constant interfering of the author.

Another aspect is the ordering of the information – the content structure. History is mixed with science writing without any clear boundaries drawn between them. Perhaps not everything has a clear distinction but I did often find the constant shift of focus on historical and sociological perspectives versus the scientific explorations, discoveries, and chemical integrity of the liquids to be jarring. The organization aspect could have been solved with having the book structured more after characteristics than liquids as a whole, or having each chapter be organized after some kind of timeline, aspect, or other form of red thread. As it were, it’s all mixed together – this is fine for someone who randomly picks this book up, having a passing interesting and learning some interesting nuggets of information but it might be more frustrating if you’re looking for a true guide through the subject. Equally, while I can see the value of the focal point on specific substances – allowing for examples to be more concrete as well as illustrative – I did find the book to be falsely described as the story of liquids as a form rather than the history of a select few. You do get a sense of liquids in the general sense throughout but it’s, at least for me, not the thing you’re left with.

All in all, I’d say it’s well worth picking up if you’re interested in dipping your toe into the natural sciences but are more sociologically or historically minded – this book might open up a new area of interest or even further deepen a budding fascination with the physical and natural world around us. Oh, warning though! Maybe avoid this book if you have a fear of flying.

If you're into science, this book is a gem.

It's written by a material scientist and the story is told on a flight from London to San Francisco, ostensibly focusing on all the liquids on board but it's really just a premise to tell the stories he wants to tell. The fact that he was on board a flight was cute but seemed contrived a bit at parts. But I didn't really care because the science and stories were super interesting to me.

This book has 12 chapters, each chapter focusing on a different substance like glue, ink, etc. I loved the bits about how candles work and how the wick pulls water up against the force of gravity. I learned about how the World Trade Centers buckled due to the strength of the steel decreasing under such high heat and then putting pressure on the lower floors, etc. And how flavor is a multi-sensory experience (and how we assume and 'can taste' flavors related to the color.) I also loved reading how icarus story wouldn't be possible because it gets colder when you fly higher :) I loved learning about ballpoint pens and how they work (and how amazing they are!!) and about tar and all the interesting new innovations they are making to help the roads last longer.

There is just so much fascinating science in this book. Highly enjoyable.

thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at ~29%.

This book is great, it's just not for me. It makes the science behind our liquids really accessible (which will likely appeal to your average reader, though as a STEM major taking organic chemistry I found it a little oversimplified), and branches out into a variety of related topics, not just the pure science behind the liquids themselves but also the history of their usage and how they interact with other forces: gravity, neurology, biology, etc.

And although the "airplane journey" narrative is a fascinating way to organize the information — and illustrative of just how big a role liquids play in our everyday lives — I did find the transitions between science/history and the real-time descriptions a little jarring and sometimes a little contrived. (Again, not something that I think will bother most readers; I'm just really picky about descriptive writing.) I also thought the breadth of information made it feel a little scattered and unfocused, though all the information is really interesting!

What an engaging read! It has some interesting information about nearly every liquid we might encounter in our lives, from something as common as tears to complicated chemical inventions. It doesn't bore, however, because everything is simplified and it reads like a story.
Honestly, when I came across this book, I was trying to rediscover my passion for chemistry and this book definitely helped. It shows how chemistry is all around us and how it manifests in liquids in a fascinating way.

What a fun and interesting way to explore liquids, their many states, and incredible, infinite uses. The most promising of which was the liquid computer, which I found absolutely fascinating. Enjoy your time with this book and learn many amazing things about liquids.